in the end
by Lily Monte
Summary: Oneshot from Sasuke's perspective that reflects on his current situation and what he will finally choose once he comes face to face with Naruto again. Warning, has spoilers from chapters 585ish-590.


Yay for awkward titles. (I'm not sure what to call this little blurb.)

Warning: this contains spoilers from the most recent chapter (chapter 590).

* * *

What is love anymore? How does one begin to forgive? Are there humans still left in this world that are even _capable_ of doing such things?

I shift my gaze from the landscape to my hands. It's hard to believe I almost killed my comrades with these same hands. I observe both sides of my hands with a strange curiosity, as if trying to look for new details that would set these hands apart from the ones that had killed others. As if I were looking at them with new eyes.

But they are the same. And I am the same person as the boy who stood in the doorway as I watched my brother assassinate my parents. I am the same boy that ran away from the village. I am the same person as the boy that tried to kill Naruto.

_Naruto_. The word itself used to carry a negative connotation in my mind, but to my surprise, it carries no hint of feelings with it this time. No matter what, everything always seemed to come back to him. My hands fall to my side and clench into fists. Gazing over the vast, destroyed land from the cliff I stood on, I muse about the blonde whose fate seems to strangely be intertwined with mine.

Are our destinies truly connected, or is he simply chasing after an unattainable goal and wasting his time? Am I truly running away? What was I going to do now? The last words of Itachi still play in an endless loop in the backdrop of my thoughts, imprinted into my mind as if it were seared with a hot iron:

"_No matter what you decide to do from now on...I will love you forever_."

The lasting image of his smiling face and the lingering feeling of his hand are both memories that will stay with me forever.

The more I ask myself these questions, the more confused I'm just becoming.

"Sasuke."

My thoughts temporarily freeze and my hand reaches for my sword instinctively. Having not been able to become truly absorbed in my thoughts like this for a long time, I lost track of my surroundings and, as a result, became vulnerable.

For a second, my mind frantically scrambles to identify the speaker. Fortunately (or unfortunately) it didn't take very long to discover that it was none other than Naruto.

I turn around slowly and face him. His expression is slightly cautious, guarded; this has long become a complicated game of tug and war. Who will be able to pull the rope closer to themselves? For so long, I had gathered enough strength to pull the rope closer to me, keeping him far from me as possible. Yet, no matter what, he was still able to pull it closer to him little by little in between our meetings.

Seeing the situation from Itachi's perspective had changed my view of everything completely. Quite literally, it nearly turned my life upside down and everything I had stood for. Ironically, he had chosen to kill the clan in order to keep the village and I safe, a decision our parents had willingly accepted, and in revenge I wanted to destroy it.

Life could be so strange sometimes.

A small gust of wind blew my hair away from my face, bringing me back from the depths of my thoughts. I focus my gaze back on Naruto, who is standing patiently several feet in front of me. He no longer wears a guarded expression. It is thoughtful, contemplative: it unnerves me slightly to realize again that he and I share an extremely unhealthy yet unbreakable bond, created due to both external and internal circumstances. Whether I liked it or not.

We both complement each other completely, yet we couldn't have been more different. I both feared and hated him at the same time. All the while, he has proven over and over again to willingly forget everything I had done and forgive me.

This is precisely the reason why I fear him, even more so than his and the nine tail's power combined. As reluctant as I am to admit, I've come to learn that a person with an incredibly iron clad will is a far more fearsome opponent than one with incredible strength.

Now, as we stand here, we both know that I had to come to a decision: return to Konoha, or cease to exist in society and live the rest of my life as a rogue.

As another gust of wind blew, I stepped forward to begin the new life I had chosen.

* * *

Cliffhanger ftw! I know, we're all dying to know what on earth Sasuke is going to do next. I can't wait until next week. Damn Kishi and his cliffhangers...

I realize this probably has a lot of loopholes and I don't remember the old scenes between these two very well so I may not have depicted his feelings the best. I also wrote this straight through at 3:30am with little editing lol uh

Recent chapters have inspired me to write this and to try to wonder what is going on in that little Uchiha's head, as well as improve my characterization of difficult characters like him. (Aren't we all dying to know what the heck that kid's been thinking the whole series or is it just me?)

As always, please review and critique away! Don't be afraid to be harsh :):)


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